


Tim's Deal With The Demon's Head

by Emmyb102



Series: Tim's Deal Batfam's Ending [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassins, BAMF Tim Drake, Canonical Character Death, Cass is Semi-Mute Because I Like Her That Way, Character Death, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Deal with a Devil, Dubious Morality, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I wrote what I wanted to read, Lazarus Pit, M/M, Major Character Undeath, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemmas, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Ra's Actually Cares About Consent, Ra's al Ghul is a Creep, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Tam Wasn't Brought Into This Mess, The Assassins Three Live!, Tim Drake Dies, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake Has Mental Health Issues, more tags as I think of them, pre-rebirth arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2020-11-08 08:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20832521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmyb102/pseuds/Emmyb102
Summary: When Bruce goes missing, and every one thinks he's dead, Tim strikes out on his own to try to find him. But when his resources are no longer enough, he makes a deal he might come to regret sooner rather than later.or Tim makes a deal with Ra's for help with finding Bruce. Does he make a mistake?





	1. Chapter 1

Nobody believed him, believed that Bruce wasn't dead. They thought he was insane, going crazy. He can't really blame them, it did sound crazy to someone who couldn't see the clues, who refused to see the clues.

And, he supposed, that what happened in the past few months could make anyone a little crazy, though no one really helped with that. First his dad dies, then Kon and Bart, then Steph, then B goes missing, no wonder everyone thought he was losing it. It doesn't help that Dick took away the only thing keeping him steady and gave it to the Demon Brat.

His so called family won't believe him, his teammates won't believe him, if he were anybody else, he'd have started to doubt himself by then, but he's not. He's Timothy Drake-Wayne, he <strike>is</strike>_ was_ Robin. He doesn't doubt himself, not when all the evidence points to B just being missing, not dead.

So he leaves Gotham, leaves San Fran, leaves the Titans, leaves the Bats, leaves his name, and takes up another. One that he can use without having to worry about dirtying it or the Bats. One where he can do what he needs no matter what. He becomes Red Robin.

He'll admit, it's not very creative, but then again, Jason had a flair for the dramatic, not the creative, so he'll take what he can get. In the months after he left Gotham, he searched the world for clues, but his own resources only go so far. When the three assassins come to him with Ra's orders - after unsuccessfully trying to kill him - he reaches for a plan he had hoped he wouldn't have to use.

He made a deal with the Demon's Head._ What would Bruce say? It didn't matter, the world needed Batman, so Tim was going to do everything in his power to get him back, even if B would never approve of it, he'll cross that bridge when it comes._

When his team of assassins got ambushed by another assassin, he wasn't fast enough to protect Z, but got there in time to block the cut made in Pru's direction and kick Owens out of the way of the blade coming towards him. During his battle with the assassin (who introduced himself as the Widower from the Council of Spiders), he could hear Pru actually doing the smart thing for once and trying to keep her friends alive, with a piece of her jacket tied around Owen's neck, where he hadn't quite missed the blade, and the rest of her jacket pressed to Z's chest. The moment of time it took for him to check them, though cost him. The blade was in and out in the blink of an eye, he didn't even notice the pain, but he knew he had to end this quickly, and with the skill of the man he was fighting, the only way would probably be lethal. _Bruce would never forgive him, but it needs to be done, this assassin is trying to kill his team, he couldn't allow that._

With another glance at his team, he unleashed a barrage of attacks that were mostly blocked, but the ones that got through were enough. Within a minute of getting stabbed, the Widower was on the ground, bleeding out, and Tim quickly rushed to his team who were not looking good at all, not even the barest feeling of regret or doubt on him.

With a barked command, he got Pru to fix up Owens while he did his best on Z. He had to hope his best was good enough, because he was bleeding too much and starting to loose his bearings. Pru only noticed when his shaking got so bad he stabbed himself with the needle instead of Z. She took off his cape and tied it around his side tightly before finishing up Z's stitching. Tim blacked out just in time to hear Ra's voice coming through the communicator, _"did you find what you were looking for, Timothy?"_

When he came back online, there was a faint green tinge to his vision and an angry haze over his mind. He had barely moved when Ra's said, "ah, Timothy, back with us, I see."

The haze quickly disappeared and he sat up, "my team?"

"They're perfectly fine at the moment," Ra's gestured over to a sofa where Pru was out cold, drooling on the arm rest. "The other two are in the medical room, recovering from their injuries, but Prudence was insistent about staying by you despite my warnings."

"Warnings?" Tim asked before his memories caught up to him, quickly, he checked his stomach, where he could have sworn he was stabbed, but there was no bandage, no blood, no scar - in fact, he didn't see any of his scars. "You put me in the pit."

Ra's didn't say anything to his monotone discovery as Tim worked out the reasons why he would do such a thing. Eventually, he just asked;"why?"

"You were dead. Such a waste of potential. As you know, I loath to see potential go to waste, especially when it still has a deal to follow through on." Ra's ran a finger across Tim's cheek, as a reminder of what Tim agreed to.

Tim swallowed hard, "did I...do anything?"

"If you're asking if you killed anyone else, then no. Which is both surprising and pleasing by itself_. _I knew you would be a great candidate for the Lazarus Pit, but I was still surprised by how well you were able to control it."

"Obviously, I didn't control it if I can't even remember it."

Ra's waved away Tim's concerns, "perhaps, but it also didn't control you. Most of the time, unless your naturally attuned to the pit, it take over your mind and body, much like it did Jason, I believe you called it Pit Rage? Triggered by high emotions and a weak mind, neither of which, you have." Something akin to pride flashed across his face before he continued, "I warned Prudence that even if you did not show signs of negative affects before, the pit is unpredictable and there is no guarantee that you wouldn't do something you might later regret, but she wouldn't listen, so here she is."

Tim frowned deeply, and accusingly said, "the only reason I'm _attuned_ to it is because you've been putting pit water in my drinks since we made the deal."

Ra's merely shrugged, "I had to ensure that if you ever needed it, the pit would not drive you insane. If you knew of it, why'd you drink it?"

Tim waved it off, "it was like a triple espresso every time I drank it, cured my sleep dep."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Tim sorted out his thoughts, both ignoring Pru's random snores. Tim was afraid to ask Ra's what he owed for this, so he didn't, instead saying, "don't think I owe you for this. This was not something I asked for nor was it a part of our deal."

Ra's just gave a predatory smile, "of course not. This was merely something I did for myself. Letting not only _you_ die, Timothy, but also any chance of bringing the Detective back would just make my games even more boring." But he already knew that at least on some level, Tim was his, so long as he kept his team alive and with the League, Tim would do anything for them and vise versa, he's already showed that. So with a small victorious smile, Ra's changed the subject, "Prudence said that the assassin you killed was called the Widower but she couldn't hear the rest of your conversation with him."

Tim didn't even flinch at the mention of his kill, seeming to have already come to terms with it, which made Ra's' smile grow just a bit more. "Yes," Tim answered evenly, happy to move on to facts he knows, "he called himself the Widower, said he worked for the Council of Spiders, from the way he spoke, it seemed like a game to him. Killing assassins just advanced the difficulty."

After that, the plans went by quickly, he was met with a new found respect from the assassins within the League and a new name, _Nightingale_. Tim laid out traps for the Council, laid out plans for the fall of the League - because there was nowhere in their deal that said he couldn't - laid out plans for getting Bruce back, and within it all, he trained in the way of the League, with more lethal moves than ever before and more speed, agility, and finesse than ever before. When all was said and done, he didn't talk it over with his team, but he did give them enough warning to get out of the Cradle before it, the Council, and all the other League bases he had access to blew up.

Within a year of working with Ra's, not a month after he left the burning remains of the Cradle, he finally got Bruce back. He was waiting for Ra's to cash in on the deal, knowing that having most of his global infrastructure blow up in his face wasn't going to stop him for long, but he didn't come after him that first month, nor the second, nor the third. Tim was starting to get worried when, on the fourth month, his team showed up, not to take him back, but to make sure he was okay at the order of Ra's. With the arrival of his team, he understood that Ra's was not necessarily angry at him, but busy doing other things and allowed Tim to have time with his family before he called in on the deal.

Over a year after Bruce came back, Tim was comfortably back in the fold, Dick had apologized for kicking him away and not believing him, Jason had come back to the fold as well, Damian had mellowed out under Dick's tutelage, Babs was the same rock she always was, Steph had left with Cass to Hong Kong, and Bruce was...well, Bruce. No one had asked beyond the usual what happened while he was away, no one probed deeper into his lies, no one had figured out what was going to happen soon.

They did fight his team the few times they were seen around him, but they managed to get away without any injuries, thanks in no small part to Tim distracting the Bats.

He got a heads up that Ra's was going to be calling him in when the intruder alerts for his Gotham Perch and Titans Perch went off in quick succession. The videos of the intruders in his perches came back with Pru and Owens giving the camera a thumbs up. Turning off the alarms, he steeled himself for what's about to come.

In true Ra's fashion, he ambushed them where he knew they were all going to be. Just as Tim was about to head out on patrol, Ra's started speaking, his voice echoing in the cave.

"It's a joy to have you back, Detective. I heard you had quite the trip."

Everyone was on their feet in moments, Batman and Nightwing standing protectively by Robin, Hood already had his hands on his guns by the batcomputer, Tim by the vehicles, with his collapsed bo in hand.

Batman just growled out, as he pushed Robin more securely behind him, "Ra's."

With a devilish smile, Ra's just said, "I'm not here for my daughter's pathetic excuse of a child." He turned his head to where Tim was positioned away from everyone else, hand extended in offering, "Timothy, I believe it's well past time for you to complete your end of the deal. Return with me."

"Deal?" Nightwing repeated, looking to Tim for answers.

Tim let out a sigh and put his bo back in it's pocket, and stood tall despite the looks his family were giving him. "I made a deal with Ra's after I exhausted my own resources looking for B. No one else believed me, so I turned to the only one who did." He gave a little pause, then shrugged in a 'what can you do about it' manner. "In exchange for helping me get Bruce back, I agreed to do anything Ra's saw fit to have me do."

Bruce and Dick looked pained - for two different reasons - and before they could question him on the necessity of the deal, Tim just said, in an off-handed manner, like it was obvious, "Gotham - the _world -_ needed a Batman, the family needed Bruce, the decision was apparent."

With a little hum of agreement, Ra's added in as sympathetic a voice as a sociopath could get, "no one needed you."

And it's like he discarded the last of his masks, he moved in a much sleeker fashion, like he was dancing, holding just enough of a dangerous vibe to be lethal, smile razor sharp, voice cold but amused. "Really now, Ra's, you could have just called."

"You know I like a more hand-on approach when it comes to you, my Nightingale."

Damian choked, "Nightingale? What gives Drake the right to that name?"

"Why wouldn't he have it? Timothy has shown time and time again that he's the smartest most practical of you lot and took to his training quite well." Ra's answered, clasping the hand that slid into his outstretched one, pulling it close, and resting a hand on Tim's lower back possessively.

Tim gave a venomous smile, but Damian just insisted that Tim didn't deserve the honor of the title Nightingale because he would never be able to bring himself to kill anyone.

Ra's' face took on an amused 'I know more than you' look before looking down at the slight boy in his arms, "you never told them what you had to do? What happened to you?"

Tim rolled his eyes where the family could see it, "you like being _alive_, don't you? No need to sic the Bats on you while you're trying to clean up the mess I left you."

Ra's hummed, "and what a mess it was. Nearly a hundred of my bases all around the world, over three thousand of my ninja, and almost all of my Lazarus Pits blown to bits. But somehow your team made it out of the Cradle when no one else did, not even the White Ghost or the Council of Spiders. I must commend you on your spectacular strategy."

"You didn't hurt my team did you?" A threatening edge took precedence in his voice, "they were just following my orders like you told them to."

"Of course not. I don't need half my surviving ninja to defect to you, my Nightingale. It just took longer than I was planning to set up my operations again."

"Well, I would hope so. I forced the shut down of most of your shell corporations and drove many of your freelance agents into hiding."

"I'm well aware of the pains you took to keep this meeting from happening sooner." There was a hunger in his eyes that none of the Bats missed.

"Blowing people up and being the one to personally end them are two separate matters, are you sure Drake is up to the task?" Damian asked, hand still on his katana as if he was going to kill Ra's then and there.

"I appreciate your concern Damian, but your assumption that I haven't killed is wrong. As I've said before, I have and always will do what is needed no matter what I have to do to get it done. I always believed Jason's way had been more effective and efficient on the crime rates when he was killing the criminals, despite that it was illegal, it was probably the best way to go about it. Much more efficient that this catch and release tactic you seem to love so much Bruce. And if you'll remember, vigilantism is illegal as well, so technically, we're all on the wrong side of the law no matter if the public ignores that little fact or not." Tim lectured as he stripped from his Red Robin uniform and into a costume Ra's brought for him.

The Bats as a whole zero in on the smooth scar free skin he's never shown them since he got back. With a little rueful smile, Tim adds on, as if it actually slipped his mind, "oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you that Jason's not the only one who died now, huh?"

He turns back to them in his new black ninja suit with green and gold accents, his eyes now Lazarus green and he gives them a bigger smile, a predatory one that mirrored Ra's own. "A few months after I left to find clues from B, an assassin ambushed my team and I. He ran one through the chest with his scimitar before I could warn them, sliced another's neck. Ran me through the spleen before I killed him, but I bled out before anyone could fix it."

Ra's tuts behind him, "that's because you're an idiot who values your subordinates lives over your own and fixed them up before helping yourself. Not to mention, if you hadn't of taken the time to check on them during your battle with the assassin, you wouldn't have gotten hit, and thus wouldn't have had to kill him."

Tim merely shrugged easily, "I had to make sure Pru wasn't doing something stupid like, you know, trying to shoot him while I was in the way, it's happened before on that team. Thankfully she was being smart for once and tending to the others."

"Small mercies. I suppose we should get going, my Nightingale." Ra's hummed lowly, pulling Tim closer to him, nearly smiling in vicious glee when Tim leaned into him.

"We're already done distracting them? My team moves fast. I had another thirty minutes of banter we could have used." Tim tilted his head in mock disappointment and sighed.

"Distract?" Nightwing asked, seeming to be the only one focusing on the here and now and not what has already been said.

"Hmm, my team's getting my things from my various rooms. If I'm not mistaken, Z was upstairs?"

"Indeed he was. I'm assuming the other two tripped your alarms at your perches, so you were aware I was coming?" Ra's asks, a little putout at being outed.

"Being good teammates and giving me a heads up, you know, the normal thing people do?" Tim corrected innocently, before his eyes focused on Alfred in the background, frozen halfway down the stairs. "Oh, and Alfred, don't be too surprised if your cooking starts going missing soon, I'll probably send people to get some cookies every now and again. Nobody beats your food."

Tim turns to Ra's, "you wouldn't mind me using your ninja like that, would you Ra's?"

Ra's' face went through what _must _have been a spasm because there was no way that Ra's could look _fond_ of anyone, much less_ Tim._

"The Gotham ninja are practically mine now, anyway. They like me better." Tim pointed out and Ra's didn't even try to deny it.

"My resources are at your command," Ra's agreed graciously.

"After everything he's done to you, you're just going to give him the keys to your empire?" Damian asks, still, for some reason unknown to Tim, trying to change Ra's' mind.

"Yes, well. Timothy is a man of his word. He could have completely eradicated the League, but it would have gone against the deal we made. He toes the line, but he never oversteps. The predictability in his unpredictability is refreshing. I can always count on him to do something unexpected, a great opponent but a perfect ally. He's subtle. More subtle than any of you." Ra's answered vaguely while seeming to actually give a proper answer.

Tim pulls a device from one of the pockets on the suit on the floor when Jason quickly blurts out, "how did you never get lost?"

Tim cocked his head, "in the green?" Jason nods, and Tim gives a little smirk, "it's so much easier to live with it, than to fight it, like you are. Ra's taught me that, to pick your battles and not exhaust your efforts. You'll learn, in time."

Before anyone could say or do anything, the lights flickered and they were gone.

The Bats stood there for several minutes before Dick ran upstairs to the mansion, Damian right on his tail. When they arrived at Tim's door, Dick threw it open and froze at how empty it was. Running back down to the cave, Dick called Beast Boy at Titans Tower and asked him to check Red's Perch. When Gar told him that it was empty of everything, Dick nearly let out a sob, hanging up before he could even hear Gar's frantic questions.

Bruce was at the computer when they got back down, Alfred was gone, the discarded Red Robin suit as well. "His room here and his perch at Titan's Tower are empty, I'm going to check the one in town. What are you doing on the computer?"

Jason gave a shaky laugh, eyes flickering green, "Christ, I thought I was bad. He went a joined the League of fuckin' Assassins! The same League that half of us ran away from!"

B grunted, "there was something off about him, I'm going to watch the videos until I can find out what it was."

"Of course there is something wrong with Drake, Father. He voluntarily went with Grandfather. Even if he made a deal, he would have found a way out of it if he really wanted to."

Dick nodded, putting a reassuring hand on Damian's tense shoulder, "that's right, B. This is Tim we're talking about here. He must have a plan. I don't believe he'd turn that easily."

Jason gave a sharp inhale and the Bats looked at him wearily, but Jason was staring at the screen. Quickly, he moved B out of the way of the computer and zoomed in on Tim's twitching hands. "That's it! At first, I thought he was just nervous, but everything else seemed too perfectly fluid and at ease. He's trying to tell us something in Morse code!"

They watched the video in silence for a few minutes before Dick turned to Jason with the brightest smile ever on his face, "amazing! How did you even notice that Little Wing?"

Jason just shrugged, "he was doing it in the direction of the camera the whole time, you guys were just at the wrong angle I guess?"

"This is great! Baby Bird left us a message! He's got a plan!" Nightwing almost looked excited enough to do cartwheels.

"I highly doubt everything he said was a lie though, not with Ra's there to call him out or back him up." B said quietly.

Damian just nodded, "we can deal with that when we get to it. For now, we have to help Drake."

"Jason," B interrupts, eyes still on the screen. "Tim says he left a paper file on the Pit at your safe house."

Jason nearly stumbles over himself as he runs to his motorbike, Dick calling after him, "check his perch on your way!"

When all is said and done, it's not too bad. Tim says he has a plan, it'll take three years at least, but he's got a plan. If the Bats are willing to help, he left a communicator on Dick's favorite hiding spot. He'll send a ninja every other week to 'steal' Alfred's cookies, if they want him to know anything, leave a letter next to the cookies. He said he'd try to stay up to date on the happenings of Gotham and help where he can, but not to expect much in the beginning.

And thus starts the second longest con of Tim's life, and the longest the Bats would go worrying over one of their wayward birds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please give a Kudos and drop a comment! If you see any errors, please tell me!


	2. Two Years Is A Long Time To Think Near Ra's al Ghul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This follows Tim for two years after he leaves with Ra's.

Within a month of living in Nanda Parbat, Tim had gotten used to the schedule. Wake up, coffee, train, breakfast, coffee, and watch the sunrise with Ra's, work, train, work, coffee, dinner with Ra's followed by a walk through the gardens to watch the sunset, work, sleep. Tim can't remember a time he had a schedule that actually let him sleep, but he'd learned that if he didn't sleep, Ra's would drug him to sleep and he didn't want that happening ever again.

During the many times that Ra's has distracted him from his work with a game of chess and a harmless conversation, that they both knew was just another battle field, Ra's seemed pleasantly surprised by Tim's slightly convoluted morals. Tim had merely shrugged when it was pointed out to him, making an offhanded comment about how he was his mother's son no matter what the Bat trained into him. Which lead to a long explanation defending his mother's abysmal parenting skills, making excuses for both his parents' long absences and odd teachings, that both knew were just lip service at this point because Tim did not believe a word of it.

"You have so many masks, my Nightingale, I fear I may never see the real Timothy Drake," Ra's drawled during one such chess game.

They went through three moves silently until Tim said in a detached manner, "I can show you Timothy Drake whenever you ask. I can show you Tim Drake, Tim Wayne, Timmy, Robin, Red, I can show you anything you want."

Ra's pursed his lips as he captured Tim's rook, "allow me to rephrase that; I fear I may never see the real you."

Quietly, Tim contemplated that, taking Ra's pawn and bishop as Ra's takes his other rook. Eventually, he says, "my mother always told me that people didn't need to like you, they just needed to need you. 'They wish to be deceived; the secret to success is giving them what they desire'. She told me to find something they lack and fill that void until they can't imagine life without you."

"Oh? And what else did she tell you?"

Tim gave a small almost reminiscent smile, "that the best weapon is a sweet smile and honeyed words followed closely by a sharp tongue and sharper blades."

Ra's could see where Tim had learned it from now, since it was obvious that none of the Bats had learned or taught any of it. Ra's refrained from commenting, feeling the upcoming minefield in their verbal battle, he took one of Tim's pawns and let him navigate his tricky subject by himself.

"She often told me that men were easily swayed by the intimidating and powerful, but even more so when that is offered by a pretty thing." He took Ra's last knight and checked him, watching Ra's move to the only space he could. "She told me that men who think they have everything often underestimate their opponents." He moved his last bishop into position, "and_ you_, Ra's, are a man who has everything. Checkmate."

Ra's looked at the board slightly surprised before knocking his king down in defeat, "I assure you, Timothy, there is still something I have yet to obtain."

"Which is?"

"Your loyalty," Ra's answers simply, setting up the chess board for another game.

"You have my loyalty," Tim says slightly confused.

"No. I have your loyalty to your word, not to me." Ra's rebukes and almost starts another round of chess, but one look at Tim shows him that that would be too much and stands.

"Is that not good enough? I will honor my deal and you already know I'm loyal to my team, so I'm loyal to you by default! Is that not how this works?" Tim sounds agitated and exhausted, slumping into his chair by the end of his outburst.

Ra's lays a hand on Tim's shoulder, voice soft, "I know this is hard for you. I'm a patient person with all the time in the world, I can wait for what I seek. I know it will not come easily." Stroking a finger along his cheek, Ra's says with even more kindness and understanding than before, "get some rest, Timothy. You look like you need it. And there is no need to run yourself ragged here. Take your time and acclimate to your new life, new mask, here. Though I would prefer if you felt comfortable enough to show me the real you."

Just before Ra's is out of the room, Tim admits quietly, "I don't know if there is a real me anymore."

It's odd, seeking comfort from Pru - loud, brash Pru, but she has the best hug in the group if you can ignore her words - and yet Tim finds himself doing it quite often lately. Just in so much need of affection that isn't slightly creepy or given with the expectation of something in return. His team knows how touch starved his is, how much a brush of a hand on his back, a squeeze of his arm, a ruffle of hair, helps him, grounds him.

So he supposes he shouldn't find it that surprising when half the time his 'training' time is just hanging out with his team, playing board games, reading books, telling stories. They pile onto the bean bags that Pru insists aren't hers - but they're in her room - and they take turns being tactile with him. Resting his legs on their laps, petting his hair, force feeding him Alfred's cookies, draping themselves over his chest, sometimes full blown pulling him onto their laps to snuggle. And Tim loves every minute of it.

Again, he shouldn't be surprised when Ra's finds out about it, but he is. After a nice 'training' session, Tim is still too blissed out to focus on his work, staring at the paper with a soft smile on his face and hair ruffled passed the point of indecent.

"I see your team is taking care of you," Ra's voice snaps him out of his daze. In a flash, Tim's hurled a knife at the chair the man sat in out of surprise, Ra's caught it like it was nothing and raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

Tim frowned, blinking slowly, "how long have you been there?"

Ra's just smiled in answer, saying instead, "you've been here for over an hour staring at that paper and smiling. Should I be worried, Timothy?"

"You were watching me for over an hour?" When Ra's just smiles, amused at this whole situation, Tim waves him off, "I was just thinking."

"About how affectionate your team is with you?" Tim doesn't answer, turning back to stare at the paper again, this time in frustration. He doesn't react to Ra's standing and moving over him, his warmth radiating through his back as Ra's puts a hand on his neck and leans down, lightly placing the throwing knife on the table by Tim's hand. "If you need the comfort of another's body, you need only ask."

Tim shivers lightly, "must everything become an innuendo with you Ra's?"

Ra's pulled back sharply, "that was not how I intended it to come across."

"Yes, well, your actions tell a different story. It's unfortunate that you're just naturally creepy, Ra's."

With a huff of amusement, Ra's ran his fingers through Tim's hair, attempting to tame it from the rats nest his team had tangled it into. He produced a comb from _God knows where_ when Tim didn't object to the touch and started on getting the knots out as carefully as possible. Not even commenting when Tim nodded off while reading.

Tim woke fuzzy and warm, but not in a drugged way, he felt a hand running through his hair, softly scratching his scalp exactly the way he liked it. His head was cushioned on a soft pillow laid on a lap, his body was laid out across a sofa and the person above him was humming quietly.

"Should I be worried about your sleep schedule, Timothy?" The humming stopped as did the head scratches and Tim almost whined at the loss, the thud of a book being set down warned him to answer.

"No, Ra's. I just couldn't sleep last night."

"Would it help to sleep with someone?" Tim had almost tensed when Ra's continued, "I'm sure one of your team wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you."

Tim groaned, "nooo, they're the _worst_ mother-hens. I would never leave my bed if it were up to them."

Ra's tries and fails to smother his smile, "I'm certain we can convince them to allow you out if need be."

"Don't be amused by this you asshole. I didn't know that assassins were so clingy." Tim admonishes with a smile of his own. "What were you reading?"

There was a slight pause, as if surprised he asked, "poetry."

Tim slides a glance at the book, but it was leather bound and held no markings on the spine, which was annoying, but not shocking. Ra's smiled, probably at his expression and pulled the book over to show him the page he had marked, all the words in Arabic. Frowning, he mutters that he knew he should have learned Arabic instead of _French_, but what's done is done, _he'll have to ask Z to teach him later._

"I wouldn't mind teaching you, should you want it." Ra's offered helpfully, settling his book on the armrest of the couch and fitting his hand back in Tim's hair.

Before Tim could reply, Pru knocked at the door, the loud rapping as familiar to him as his own heartbeat, "yeah, Pru?"

She pushes through the door, a grin on her face, "so you _are_ alive. We were worried, you missed training."

Tim gives Ra's a look that said 'see what I mean' and replied, "I was side-tracked."

"I can see that," she cracks a grin, "what is this? Therapy session?"

"Timothy didn't sleep well last night," Ra's cuts in smoothly, "so he's taking a siesta."

"Aw, why didn't you tell us, Timmy? You could of slept with me, or Owens. Z probably wouldn't mind either."

Ra's gave Tim an 'I told you so' look and refused to let him sit up, "yes, unfortunately, he needs silence for his nap, so if you would, Prudence?"

Tim scowls but doesn't resist and Pru leaves with a wave and an open invitation to her bed any night that sounded more innuendo than offer, but Tim deemed to be true nonetheless.

They fell into silence, Ra's reading and running his fingers through Tim's hair as Tim stared at the ceiling. After thirty minutes, Tim starts fidgeting and glancing at Ra's thoughtfully, hopefully, before looking away with a scowl, only to repeat it again just minutes later. All minutely enough for most to not notice, but this is _Ra's_, and without looking away from his book, he asks, "would you mind terribly if I read aloud, Timothy?"

A look of relief flashed across Tim's face before he agreed and closed his eyes to Ra's' smooth Arabic rolling over his ears, followed by the English translation. And the poetry was...nice. Odd, like most translated pieces, but nice all the same. He thinks he might have scoffed at one of them, but he couldn't be sure because he was probably too far gone to actually do anything.

Tim fondled a piece of his hair, consideringly, _maybe he should get it cut? It was brushing past his shoulders now and hanging in his face too much. But, then again, his team (and Ra's) loves to run their fingers through it. They'd probably tell him if it truly became a nuisance._

Sighing, he got back to his papers, after four months of living in Nanda Parbat, Ra's had finally trusted him with more than just expense reports, payments, and other low level stuff. Of course, it probably helped that he could read most of the other things now thanks to both Ra's and Z's lessons in Arabic - Z had deemed him passable just last week but insisted he keep learning. So he was now able to read and work through almost all the paperwork that goes through the League, mission reports, client lists, pending and active missions lists, locations of bases and safe houses, lists of freelance agents and shell corporations, lists of undercover operatives and moles in other organizations ranging from both corrupt and clean governments, political parties, and major corporations to gangs to Villain and Superhero groups (JLA included).

He was so focused on reading through all this new information that he didn't even notice someone was trying to get his attention until they slammed a hand down on the page he was trying to translate. Jumping back, he blinked owlishly at Pru, Owens and Z to either side of her, both looking fondly worried while Pru looked like she was going to force him into the nearest bed and make him stay there.

"How long you been at that, Boss?" Owens asked, coming around to rub his tense shoulders, "did you sleep at all?"

"Sleep? It hasn't been that long since I started?"

"_Timmy,_" Pru sighed like she was begging for patience, "it's time for morning training. You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?"

Tim certainly wasn't surprised by that, he used to pull all-nighters regularly, for days on end in fact. He just shook his head and waved them off, going back to the pages he needs to finish reading through.

Z decides to step in before Pru can explode on them, "Ra's is asking for your company for breakfast...and coffee. You missed the sunrise, but he said that was okay."

Tim looked up at that, his molasses slow brain caught up and he glanced to his empty coffee cup then back to his papers before sighing and standing. "I guess I need coffee anyway, the words were starting to blur," he allowed, letting Pru wrap an arm around his waist and Owens wrap one around his shoulders as Z ruffled his hair and lead the way to Ra's.

"Timothy, how nice of you to join me." Ra's greeted when they came into view, Pru and Owens laughing while Z and Tim smiled at the joke Owens had told at Z's expense.

"Hey, Ra's," Tim acknowledged as he sat across from him, immediately drinking half his cup of coffee before putting it back wearily, "you put Pit Water in my coffee again."

"I heard you hadn't slept so I figured you needed it."

"Yes, well, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me beforehand that you laced something I'm about to ingest." Tim told him dryly, all but Pru had left by then and he was considering asking her to sit with them, but Ra's hadn't exactly liked it last time, so he restrained himself and watched her leave.

Ra's hummed lightly, "I'll keep that in mind."

They continued with their breakfast, Tim polished off his coffee and the next two unlaced cups with light word play and banter. With a tight smile, Ra's finally said what was on his mind, "if your sleep schedule continues to be neglected, I'll have no choice but to limit the amount to paperwork you receive."

Tim shook his head easily, "there's no need for threats, Ra's. I merely got caught up in how expansive your influence is. I'll have my team remind me to sleep from now on if it makes you feel better."

"There's no need for flattery, Timothy." He returns with dry humor. "I suggest you take a siesta before doing any more work," Ra's leaves it at that and departs with a brush of his fingers over his cheek and a pat on the shoulder.

Owens arrived just seconds after Ra's disappeared and didn't even hesitate to pick Tim up bodily and carry him to Pru's room with a cheerful, "heya, Boss!"

In the end, he did take Ra's' advice, though not by choice, Owens held him in a great imitation of Dick's patented octopus hug, their heads in Z's lap as he read and pet Tim's head, and Pru laying over the both of them. The mini assassin pile they had going was oddly comfortable and warm so Tim couldn't complain with any real heat and just let it happen.

It was nearing the one year mark when Ra's first pulled him out of his work daze to attend a meeting with him about a potential client for Tim and his team. Tim was kinda nervous, but it was justified, killing someone in self defense was different from killing someone for money or because of orders. But he can't see his team making him kill anyone no matter what Ra's orders them to do, so Tim straightens his back and follows Ra's.

His charade here was a little different from his acts anywhere else and it nearly pushed him out of his comfort zone on multiple occasions, but he mostly kept himself from slipping into other, more familiar masks. On the rare occasions that he did slip, Ra's didn't comment on it, but Tim couldn't tell what he thought of it or what he planned to do with him. True, Tim had been putting a lot of faith in Ra's at the beginning to not just torture, kill, and resurrect him (rinse and repeat) to get the most mind controlled puppet he could. But Tim's plan had banked on the fact that Ra's would want not only to get him to submit willingly, but also keep as much of his mind intact as he could, and he was right, _so all's well that ends well, right_?

At the meeting, their potential client wanted to place a hit on a very influential Peruvian businessman who had assaulted and raped her daughter and countless other girls. The man was able to sweep any and all police reports filed about it under the rug and forgotten, so he was getting away scot-free.

As his anger at the man started to rise, Tim couldn't help but realize that Ra's had _chosen _this woman as his first client for a reason, had wanted to ease him into killing in a way that resembled Red Hood's own moral compass because Tim's and Jason's were just so similar,_ and damn him, it was working._

Tim said he'd have to research the target before accepting the job and Ra's sent him to Peru with his team barely an hour after that. Two days after they landed, Tim had seen enough evidence to agree with their client that the man needed to be stopped, and since the government wouldn't do it...he called Ra's to accept the job.

They had the whole thing planned out for the next night when his personal guards would be busy with their own distractions, Tim had laid out their only rule; no unnecessary killing they weren't being paid for (it would mean they were sloppy and not trained enough). The plan was going great until Tim and Pru reached their target's office and saw the little girl. Tim saw green and then red, he didn't even realize he had not only decapitated their target, but also cut the man's junk off.

By the time the green faded back to it's normal levels and he could move and talk again, Pru had already covered the girl in her jacket and ushered her out of the room. Z was at the edge of the room, watching and waiting with a serious expression on his face.

"You back, Tim?"

Tim let out a shaky breath, "yeah, sorry."

Z held up his hands and kicked off the wall, "I don't mind what you've done with the man." He wrapped Tim in a firm hug before Tim could shake himself to pieces, "I only wish you had waited until the child was out of the room."

Guilt slammed into Tim _so hard_, he winced, "did she...?"

"Pru blocked her view and covered her ears, but couldn't do much about the smell. Owens is with them, trying to figure out where Marie needs to go now. Are you calm enough to leave?"

Tim swallows thickly, "yeah, lets go. I can translate for them if they need it - over the coms of course, I doubt the girl will want to see me."

Z smiles a bit, "actually, she was asking about you just a minute ago. Owens can handle that much Spanish at least, plus Marie knows a little English, so they're getting through the conversation fast."

"Right," Tim swallows, "I should probably clean the room before we leave. Don't want her to be suspected of murder."

Z just guides him to the door, "I've already cleaned everything she touched while you were calming down. It's been about thirty minutes."

"Oh," Tim mutters painfully, "has Ra's tried to contact us?"

"Not ye-" Z gets cut off by _(speak of the devil and he shall come)_ Ra's' smooth voice over the coms.

"_How is it faring, Timothy?_"

"_Ra's_," Tim sighs into his com and takes a deep breath, "we've completed our objective and will be flying back by tomorrow morning."

Ra's must have picked up on how strained he was despite how put together he sounded, "_very well. I await your safe return and look forward to your report. And _breathe_, Timothy._"

With a sharp laugh, Tim pulled out his earpiece and gave it to Z, "what a manipulative piece of _shit_." He walks away, back to the body to see exactly what he'd done, sneering at it, "worse than my parents, worse than _Bruce_." He takes a deep breath, running his hands through his hair, "alright, Tim. Stop freaking out and _think_."

_This man definitely deserved to die, he'd already proved that or they wouldn't have agreed. Despite Ra's pulling the strings, we did the right thing, so ignore that. _He looks up at the ceiling instead. _Losing it, while somewhat justified, was not good. He needs to learn to keep a tighter lid on the green. He definitely shouldn't have done that in front of the girl, that will just add to her probable nightmares and it's nobody's fault but his. Keep the green _controlled_. He can deal with Ra's' plans, he just has to figure out what they are, until then, he's at a slight disadvantage. This game is only just starting but if Ra's takes too far of a lead, he's just going to be dragged along until he submits to him and Tim cannot allow Ra's to win like that. His plans need to be reworked, he can do that once things here are taken care of. _

With a sharp nod, Tim turns back to Z, "alright, where are Pru and Owens with getting the girl where she needs to be?"

If Z's shocked by his sudden change of demeanor, he doesn't show it, simply handing Tim back his com and answering, "they're escorting her to her house now. Both have expressed how important it is that she not tell anyone of what happened tonight for multiple reasons, and the girl agreed."

Tim accepts his com and leads them out the doors, "okay, once they're done with that, have them meet us back at the hotel, we'll pack and leave for the jet immediately."

Z nods and relays the information, keeping a close eye on where Tim leads them, lost in thought. And he doesn't come out of his mind till Pru and Owens manhandle him onto the sofa of their jet, head in Owens' lap, feet in Pru's, Z keeping watch across from them. He drifts off to sleep as they fly back to Nanda Parbat, his plans and anger put to the back burner in favor of enjoying their company.

It's been about eighteen months since he came to Nanda Parbat, missions have been coming in at a steady pace for his team, Tim's worked closely with many other teams and freelance assassins, and he can say that the foundations of his plans are almost set. It's been longer than he was aiming for to reach this point, but he doesn't have a set time frame and Ra's is not nearly as trusting as he let on.

He even had Tim sent on a mission that he had leaked to Tim's old teammates in the Titans, watching and listening from a live feed as Tim did beautiful verbal somersaults at Kon and Cassie's accusations of him being a traitor while he beat them unconscious. Even going so far as to knock out Bart when he came in to take them back. A test of trust he seemed to have passed since Ra's never once mentioned it after, even though he knew Tim knew he was watching.

But finally, after kissing ass and gaining the loyalty and admiration of so many of his ninja, Ra's was willing to trust him more, giving him more information, bringing him to more meetings, actually considering his suggestions for a better run League. Ra's had made it a rule now that any kills besides those of their targets would be punished when Tim made a point that they weren't getting paid for those kills and it makes the whole organization look bad if their ninja can't get in and out of situations without being spotted (and killing the witness). Ra's could see that, after all, who pays for something when it's being freely given, and gives orders for better training in stealth.

Ra's refers to him less and less as Timothy and more often as Nightingale now, especially when in the company of clients and freelance agents. The sight of him with Ra's is more and more common, and he even trains with Ra's on occasion, _which is always a treat since the others have become too easy to fight._

The atmosphere around them has become less awkward as Ra's become less creepy - or Tim realized that Ra's really _is _just naturally creepy and stopped interpreting it as intentional - the possessiveness in his eyes became less predatory and more protective and proud. Pru has mentioned on several occasions how weird it is to see Ra's with could almost be considered a paternal kind of look on his face, but Tim just counts it a win in his book and adjusts the plan.

Ra's still isn't aware of communication he has going with the Bats, though he has made it clear that he knows the only reason he has ninja steal food from the manor is to check up on it's inhabitants. The Gotham ninja, though, are loyal to Tim (and _if _Ra's is aware, he seems unconcerned with how deep that loyalty really is) and tell his family more than Tim does in his answering letters about how Tim's doing unrelated to the mission that the ninja are currently unaware of.

He can't decide if he feels affection or irritation when the first letter Alfred made showed up with Alfred-pizza and a refined suggestion that he should eat more, _the ninja say you are getting thinner and one cannot subsist on coffee and hummus forever, Master Timothy_. He settles on affection but it quickly shifts to irritation as the months go on and Alfred keeps sending him things. Eventually, the letters dwindle down till it's only Alfred and Bruce sending them, with the occasional Jason tossed in. He understands, honestly he does, everyone has things they have to do, Dick the most with trying to help Damian, BPD, Bludhaven, and Gotham, so he doesn't really blame them.

It was somewhere in the fourteenth month that Cass just _showed up_ in his room and hugged the hell out of him, staying to interact and read his team before deeming them safe to leave Tim with and disappeared. She also gives little notes and gifts, though much more sporadically than the others and in a different way, having them magically appear on his nightstand like some kind of slightly less disturbed tooth fairy. He finds that sweet.

He gets clued in that Ra's is priming him to become heir after Talia more or less attacks him for it, still somehow under the impression that not only will Damian return to her, but also that Ra's will want him. He has a feeling that Talia and Ra's are going to have a falling out soon, which will speed up his plan, but also might put not only him and his team in danger, but also perhaps the Batfam depending on how it happens. But Tim cannot push it in his favor without perhaps pushing her to hurt someone so he leaves it to fall naturally and hopes for the best while planning to pick up the pieces in preparation of the worst.

The worst happens, she kills Damian when it becomes apparent to her that Ra's finds him unfit to be his heir, leaving the League, and dying, in the process. None of that much affects the League, but Tim is a little torn, should he leave Damian dead or enact his plan to bring him back. Even after consulting his team, he still can't decide.

On one hand, Damian died a hero just like he'd always hoped.

On the other hand, he died far too young.

On one hand, he won't have to worry about Damian trying to kill him anymore or bothering him.

On the other hand, he also won't hear about how he and Jason got in a fight and while they were duking it out, they managed to take down the Riddler _and_ Penguin when they accidentally fell into their new warehouse of the week.

On one hand, the public won't get suspicious that Wayne's dead son came back to life (since the headlines for the previous two weeks were about his death. Bruce is good, but not _that _good at BSing the press and public).

On the other hand, the Batfam is a mess without Damian, Dick and Bruce are beside themselves with guilt, Jason, Cass, Steph, Babs, and Alfred aren't dealing with it too well either.

On one hand, he doesn't know if Damian will want to come back.

On the other hand, the Batfam _need_ him, _and that should be enough to decide it for him, right? Apparently _not.

On one hand, he doesn't know if Damian can control the green or succumb to Pit Rage, and he doesn't want anyone to have to go through that only to regret it later.

On the other hand, Gotham needs Robin, the world needs Robin.

Not to mention, if he asked Ra's to bring Damian back there's a good chance that they'd have to bring Talia back too because Ra's is an ass like that.

But really, without a proper expectation or knowledge of the chances of failure in coming out of the pit intact and sane, Tim can't risk it, doesn't want to get the Bats' hopes up just to shatter them.

So he goes with his long shot plan, one that has better chances than the Lazarus Pit as long as they can get the _extremely _rare materials needed. One that has little to no long term, potentially dangerous affects. He sends the Bats the info in his letter, warning them to keep a close eye on the bodies of both Damian and Talia. That he'd deal with making sure Ra's doesn't get his hands on the rest of Damian's clones now that they're all aware of what Talia had done.

He can't help much, but he does make sure that the base Talia had been using to create and store her _hundreds_ of Damian clones blows up, and that Ra's is aware and under the impression that the Bats did it (specifically Jason, who he gives a heads up to in case Ra's does anything impulsive or stupid like ordering his ninja to kill Jason - not that the Gotham ninja _would_ do that, _Tim has told them that _all _the Bats are off limits_, they would just send a report to Ra's saying that they failed).

Ra's visits him that night, to inform him of the loss of a potential army and to lament on how the Bats always get in his way. Tim talks without thinking it through, a little irritation and reminiscence in his voice, "that's what they're good at. Messing up even the most perfectly laid plans."

Ra's raises an eyebrow, "I can only begin to imagine how hard it is working with and planning for their bullheaded mistakes and ignorance."

Tim just shrugs, "'s why I prefer computers to people. '_People ruin beautiful things_'," he gives a smile that Ra's almost immediately returns, perking up at the Arabic words.

"Khalil Gibran. I read that to you?"

Tim just hums, leaning back in his chair still reading through papers he didn't bother to stop when Ra's walked in, his stack of paperwork never ending.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Ra's looking through some of the work he already finished before saying at seemingly random, "it's been, what? Two years, now?"

Tim hums again, "almost. Pru and Owens are planning a 'surprise' party for me they think I don't know about."

Ra's huffs a laugh, "it's like they don't know you at all."

"They just think that they've become better at hiding things from me since I ignore most of the shit they do behind my back." Tim sketches a grin, "they're trying to get back at me since I gave them their own surprise parties last year for their birthdays. Perks of being their leader sometimes."

"That you can order them to Cancun for a mission and they won't even suspect it's really a party?" Ra's sets his papers down, coming back around the desk to pluck out the paper in Tim's hands. "It's well past a decent time to retire for the night. Run along now, my NIghtingale."

Tim full blown grins at him, "What? No more invites to share your bed?"

"If I thought I could still sway you into my bed, my Nightingale, I would. But you have made it abundantly clear that you are not comfortable with that arrangement." Ra's lifts him to his feet, almost frowning at how light the boy _still_ was.

Tim's grin turns into a little frown, "my team isn't here so I was planning on just finishing up these papers tonight."

Ra's cocks his head, "are you still unable to sleep by yourself?"

"No!" Tim defends quickly, "I am able, I just don't find it as comforting or refreshing as wi-"

"_Timothy,_" Ra's' reprimanding tone caused Tim to instinctually flinch and brace for a blow even though it'd been almost a decade since his mother had last delivered on one.

Ra's sighed, and softened his voice, "would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?"

Tim swallows harshly before nodding slightly and Ra's leads him out of the room and to his own bedroom. And Tim kinda finds it ironic that he'd been trying his all to avoid Ra's' bedroom for _so many_ years only to voluntarily sleep in his bed. If someone had told him four years ago that he was going to end up getting into Ra's' bed of his own free will, Tim probably would have checked them for drugs before punching them in the face and making _so many_ plans to avoid this situation. But here he was, standing awkwardly by as Ra's slips into his bed first, politely waiting for Tim to make up his mind on whether or not he was going to follow through.

With a deep, calming breath, Tim closed his eyes and slipped under the covers, quickly curling into Ra's chest and pressing his face into his collarbone. He missed Ra's' surprised but amused look at how fast Tim had settled into his position, but something was missing...oh, right. "Hand," he mumbled into Ra's stupidly warm chest, "put your hand on my back."

Ra's did, a spot of heat pressing into his lower back and Tim tensed until Ra's moved it up farther. With little movement and even less talking, Tim fell into a restful sleep, even if Ra's stayed up all night watching him. And if that, for some messed up reason, made Tim sleep even better than he normally did with his team, no one had to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should Timmy stick with the plan and take Ra's and his League down or should he switch sides? Leave a comment with your opinion and reasoning! I hope you like this as much I as liked writing it! Leave a Kudos if you want Damian to come back to life!


	3. Questioning the Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follows Tim as he works his way through his own mental wavering. Up to the third year with Ra's.

There is little communication with the bats after that, even Alfred's letters and Cass's random drops stop. The ninja tell him that O's Birds are scrambling to keep Gotham safe in the aftermath of another Arkham breakout while the Bats are trying to find the chaos shard that will bring the Demon Brat back to life.

Tim gets it, bringing Damian back is more important and pressing than keeping up with Tim. He understands, _so why does his chest hurt whenever Ra's brings them up in conversation? Why does he keep getting flashbacks of when Dick took Robin away from him? Why does he feel like he's being thrown away again?  
_

Curled up in Pru's lap before she has to leave for a solo mission and he leaves with Z for a mission of his own, he's getting a bad feeling. Like he's missing something. Something integral to his plans.

"Pru?" He mumbles into her surprisingly cushy thighs. She gives a hum that she's listening while she continues to clean her guns. "What am I missing?"

She stops, looking down at him with concern, "with what?"

"My plans. I feel like I'm missing something."

"Have you accounted for everything?" She asks, "even the new things you didn't think about when first planning it?"

"There shouldn't be anything _new_. Everything was within my expectations and contingencies," his frustration leaks into his voice.

"So what changed?"

"That's just it; _I don't know_."

Pru hummed and they sat for a few minutes thinking it over until Pru suggests quietly, "maybe your view of the situation?"

"What do you mean?"

She bites her lip, "I mean you've been around Ra's for quite a while now. His words and views have a way of worming into people's minds. Especially with how constantly you've been talking with him in the past two years."

Tim tenses, wanting to automatically defend himself, say he was more aware of that and worked to counteract it, but _did that _ever _really work?_

Pru gives him a few minutes to think through that before suggesting that he should go back to Gotham and revisit _why_ he made his plan in the first place.

After his mission with Z, he informed Ra's of a brief break and they made their way to Gotham. Staying in the shadows, they watched O's people take down criminals, help people, and battle the crazies. He hacked their coms to hear the chatter, not at all surprised to find that O had called in some former members like Katana, Catwoman, and Manhunter to back up the usual array of Batgirl, Black Canary, and Huntress. Red Hood even showed up late in the night to help BG and Huntress with a drug bust turned shoot out.

They stayed for three days while Tim tried to remember why what Ra's was doing was bad again. They got attacked by Catwoman once during their three nights trailing them but managed to get away without much fuss and no injury to anyone. By the time Z told him they should get back before Ra's did anything, Tim still couldn't figure it out and chalked his old view up to Bat training and family ties.

When they got back to Nanda Parbat, Tim still feels the need to carry through on his plans, if only because he put so much effort into them and because he promised the Bats. _Odd that he'd still feel the need to be loyal to the Bats despite them practically forgetting about him. But remember, Damian's matter is more time sensitive and important than him at the moment. Bide your time and see what they do after they get him back._

His inner voice was starting to sound suspiciously like a mixture of his team and Ra's, a fact that did not settle well with him.

It'd been nearly a year since Damian died, just under four years since he came to Nanda Parbat, a few months since he checked out Gotham himself, and _finally_ Damian was back. His first clue was when Cass showed up yet again in his room and gave him a hug, whispering a small 'thank you' before giving him a stack of letters, kissing his forehead and disappearing out his balcony. 

The letters are nice, one from each of the Bats. B's was a report of what happened with what might even be considered a thank you at the end. Dick's was a thank you note that promised _so many_ _hugs when you get back, Baby Bird. So. Many._ Jason's merely complained about how the plan didn't go nearly as smoothly as they usually did when Tim was there helping (practically a big 'we miss you' with Jason's usual lack of emotional capability). Steph's gave him _all_ the dirty details that B's report and Jason's bitching left out. Babs' was probably the most factual out of all of them and even had a paragraph just for a_ thank you. Hope you're doing okay over there. If you ever need any help just ask, I'll have the JLA over there so fast Ra's wouldn't know what hit him._ Alfred's apologized for his lack of letters the past few months, not giving an excuse (_because there wasn't one, _Alfred had insisted) and updating him on how _Master Damian is currently sleeping off the negative effects of the shard. He is likely to be benched for about a month while Masters Bruce and Richard make sure he is physically and emotionally stable. Doctor Thompson and I will over see and ensure that the proper decision is made._

Tim waits a month, Ra's comments on the Bats' inability to let anyone who matters to him go, as evident by not only Jason's return into their family, but also that they went so far as to battle Darkseid to bring Damian back to life (the 'but he wouldn't even fight for you' went unsaid but not unheard). Two months pass and the letters have returned to just Alfred now, keeping him informed on Damian's recovery and the Batfam as a whole, with sporadic Jason and Steph sending him complaints, but no Bruce. Three months and Tim is itching to leave, Ra's hadn't let him take a mission since he came back from Gotham. Four months and Tim is almost ready to make a deal just to leave, Ra's' insistent, unasked-for care and attention to his sleep schedule is driving him up a wall. Five months and he and his team finally convinced Ra's to let him out on a mission. 

Ra's had given them the time limit of a week and with his whole team there, they got it done in a night, spending the rest of their time relaxing doing normal things. They went shopping, hit the movies, ate at fast food restaurants, went to the park, zoo, and aquarium, and just generally enjoyed themselves. Enjoyed being out of Ra's' little Ninja city.

They didn't expect to find a newly resurrected angry Robin in their hotel room on the fifth day of their mini-vacation. He sat on Tim and Pru's bed, arms crossed, eyebrows drawn, posture somewhat miffed. Tim froze in the doorway, his team behind him but still outside, unaware of why he stopped.

"Damian," it sounded a little more strangled than Tim would normally, _reasonably_, allow anyone outside of his team hearing. Stepping in farther, he quickly closed the door behind him, leaving said team outside where they no doubt pressed their ears to the door to hear what was about to be said.

"Drake." It was stiff, as if he was uncomfortable with what he was doing.

"Why are you here?"

"I was informed of the part you played in my resurrection." Damian starts off, slightly hesitant, tasting each word as he said them. "I wish to..._thank you_."

Tim was suddenly struck with an odd feeling of _wrong_, like just those words from Damian's mouth without any of his usual bite and snark was not right. He shook it off, "that's.... There's no need for thanks, Damian. The way you died was my fault since Talia was on my side of the equation, I should have stopped it before it even got that far."

A noise came from him that wasn't his usual tut but rather sounded like an annoyed groan of frustration, which wasn't all that new, but was rare from Damian. "My mother could be a very elusive person when she wanted to be. It is not your fault that you failed to stop her while under the pressure of maintaining a cover with my grandfather and keeping your other plans working. My thanks still stand for giving my father the key to my revival and for cleaning up my mother's mess." A pause before he adds on, as if he just thought of it, "I hope that none of this has negatively affected your plan."

Tim just kind of stares at him, trying to make sure that this is the real Damian, going to sit on the couch once he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to attack him. Damian returned his stare, cataloging all the changes that he could see. "Do the Bats know you're here?"

"No. They believe me to be in Kansas, with Jon."

Tim almost flinched at the reminder of the Kents, "how's Kon doing?"

And _there's_ the oh-so-familiar tut, "he, along with the Titans and the Justice League, believed you to have turned. I find your choice in friends concerning if they are so easily swayed on their views of you."

Tim almost smiles, "yes, I find his lack of faith disturbing as well." 

Damian twitches, once, twice, and then he snorts as he tried to suppress his laughs and Tim grins in return, "who showed you Star Wars? Was it Dick?"

Damian shakes his head, "Brown. She said it was your favorite and forced the whole family to 'marathon' the entire series."

Tim rolls his eyes, "of course she did." 

Silence follows for several heavy minutes before Tim says, "well, I appreciate your thanks, you should get back to the Kents before they realize you're gone. Call your superboy Uber."

Damian rises from the bed, "I suppose I should. I would like to meet your team before I leave, though. Make sure they are able to keep someone such as yourself alive."

Tim cracks a smile that Damian mirrors and silently pulls open the door, watching amused as Pru and Owens fall through, Z in the back looking faintly amused and exasperated. "Here they are. As you can tell, Z is the only grown up in our group."

Owens looks up at him in faux hurt as Pru stares at Damian, "so you're the one that tried to kill him."

Tim raises an eyebrow, "I don't think you have a leg to stand on in that fight, Pru. If I remember correctly, you _all _tried to kill me."

Owens smiles up at him, "you just bring out the killer in everyone." 

Z adds from where he'd stepped over Owen's prone form and closed the door, "who hasn't tried to kill you or at least attack you at some point?"

"Touche."

Damian watches them banter for a few more minutes before nodding and stepping out to the balcony. "If Drake gets hurt, I will dismember you all. _Slowly_."

Jon appears then and takes off when him, leaving his team in silence.

"Did the midget just threaten bodily harm to us? For Timmy's sake?" Pru wonder aloud, echoing everyone else's thoughts.

_Not much of a midget anymore though. The fifteen year old was getting tall._

Tim just shrugs it off, suddenly too tired to even contemplate the deeper meaning to Damian's actions at the moment and lands on the bed with a face plant and groan. An unconcerned, "someone check for bugs and trackers," mumbled into the bed sheets. A moment of silence and then Pru is right by him, manhandling him into the bed properly before joining him, and he's out before she's even settled. The Damian problem can wait for tomorrow, when he has coffee and time, for now, he's going to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Choose Your Own Ending Fic. I will have the different endings up by January. When they are up, just choose which ending you want from the series at the bottom. Choices are BatFam Ending or Ra's Ending. Happy Reading!


End file.
